\ 



F 



# OJR^TIOlSr 



DELIVERED ON THE 



THIRD ANNIVERSARY 



OF THF< 



mil} Carolina historical Sdet^^ 



HIBERNIAN HAIL, m CHARLESTON, 



ON 



THURSDAY EVENING, MAY 27, 18:s, 



JAMES LOUIS rET^ORU 



PRESIDENT OP TEr. SO. CA. ni I'o IICA^ SuflEiy. 



Pi. BUSHED AT THE REQUEST OF THE SOCIETY. 



CHARLESTON b. C. 

STEAM POWER PRESS JF WALKER, ^^JVANS & CO. 

1858. 



.<•«»?*►: 



'^1 

/ 6 d-d '3 
ORATION / 



ON THE THIKD ANNIVERSARY 



OF THE 



South Carolina Historical Society, 



HIBERNIAN HALL, IN CHARLESTON, 



ON 



THURSDAY EVENING, MAY 27, 1858, 



JAMES LOUIS PETIGRU, 



PRESIDENT OF THE SO. CA. HISTOEICAL SOCIETY. 



PUBLISHED AT THE REQUEST OF THE SOCIETY. 



CHARLESTON, S. C : 

STEAM POWER PRESS OF WALKER, EVANS & CO. 



1858. 






-Ic^ 






ADDRESS. 



It is the province of Reason to distinguish between right 
and wrong, and to deduce from that distinction rules for the 
conduct of Hfe. 

But Reason itself is not exempt from error. Theory and 
speculation often fail in doctrine as well as in practice, and 
there are no errors so dangerous as the mistakes of men in 
whom the faculty of reason is predominant, because they 
have the power, by persuasion and argument, of making those 
mistakes the source of pernicious opinions. Not to mention 
the disturbing influence of interest and passion, the seeds of 
error are so thickly sown, that Reason itself must lean on the 
authority of Experience. 

Many trains of thought, like streams that have no outlet, 
terminate in uncertainty : and there are problems in moral 
philosophy on which reason disputes in vain. 

Not individuals merely, but wliole communities, are divided 
by opinions in which both parties are equally clear. There 
is many a debate, where there is no decision ; and the judgment 
of one age is often reversed by the next. Thus the adherents of 
antiquity, under the name of Conservatives, and the partisans 
of progress, under the banner of Reform, wage an endless 
war. While by one party the clouds that obscure the sky are 
hailed Avith gladness, as harbingers of refreshing rain; to other 
minds the troubled atmosphere is filled with direful portents 
of the coming storm. On the one side, whatever is new is 
welcome ; while with others, truth itself would be rejected, if 
it have not the stamp of antiquity. 



Though opinion assumes such various shapes, and whole 
armies are recruited for the defence of every sort of doctrine, 
they all equally appeal to the authority of Reason; nor does 
Reason spurn the appeal — for they all draw their weapons from 
her armory; and neither intellect nor acuteness in debate, can 
be denied even to the most dangerous fanatics, or the wildest 
enthusiasts. 

It is History that comes to the relief of conscience when 
perplexed by the conflict of opinion; and furnishes a guide for 
conduct and judgment, when reason is at fault. It is to the 
human family what experience is to the individual. Prece- 
dent and example furnish a clue for arriving at a decision, 
when the mind is bewildered by doubt. They show the dif- 
ference between the line to be pursued, and that to be 
avoided ; between the way that leads to ruin, and that which 
conducts to safety; and questions which Reason could not 
solve, are silently settled by Time. 

Time, which is the destroyer of the works of men, gives 
them History in return for what it takes away. The legacy 
is of inestimable value, but it has not always been transmitted 
through faithful hands. The truth which it is the duty of 
history to reveal, is often clouded with fable. Yet it is to the 
study of history chiefly that we are indebted for the skill that 
is necessary to separate the ore from the dross ; to discriminate 
between the true and the false ; between the tales of fiction 
and the phenomena of real life. In early times this operation 
was but very imperfectly understood; and in the narratives 
that have come down from a remote antiquity, truth and fic- 
tion are so intimately blended as to defy separation. The 
credulity with which things contrary to nature and experience 
are received, even by able and observing men, becomes a 
marvel and problem for succeeding ages; that cherish, per- 
haps, on other subjects, opinions equally at variance with 
truth ; destined in their turn, to be rejected with amazement 
as the exploded fallacies of an unquestioning period. As in 
the external world the senses are often unconscious of sur- 
rounding objects; so in the interior life of man, the mind may, 
for want of attention, be insensible to ideas that would other- 



wise be obvious. The jurists say, with justice, that nothing 
is certain which has not been questioned — for till the question 
is made, there is no comparison, and of course no judgment; 
so that, without an actual examination, it is impossible to tell 
whether anything received for true will stand the test of inves- 
tigation ; for it may have been admitted at first by indolence 
or inattention, become fixed by habit, and gradually acquired 
the character of public opinion. 

Although the difference between truth and falsehood is a 
distinction perceptible to the understanding of all rational be- 
ings ; yet to discriminate between them in a complex proposi- 
tion, where there is a necessity for comparison and reflection, 
requires the use of rules that are the later productions of a 
cultivated Reason. As long as History depended on tradi- 
tion, and no contemporary memorials preserved its integrity 
against the defects of memory, or the interpolations of parti- 
ality or hatred, the line between fable and veracious narrative 
was scarcely perceptible. 

The account of what happened in former times, was not 
only inperfect for the want of accurate information, but the 
narrative was varied by prejudice or vanity ; by the desire of 
inculcating the opinions, or gratifying the ambition of the 
writer. But when public registers of some sort began to 
be kept, cotemporary evidence checked the license of the im- 
agination, and history assumed more and more the gravity of 
a moral teacher. The critical judgment of Polybius, for in- 
stance, is in strong contrast with the credulous avidity of He- 
rodotus. For though the Father of History, as he is called, 
is a lover of truth, and deserving of confidence when he 
speaks from his own knowledge; so that succeeding investi- 
gations have tended more and more to raise his character for 
fidelity; it must be acknowledged that he seems to have been 
sadly deficient in weighing the credibility of evidence. 

But there has ever been a wide difference between the tra- 
ditionary and the critical school in the appreciation of history. 
The prevailing style has varied with the state of public opin- 
ion. Till the revival of letters, the traditionary school had 
clearly the advantage in popularity, and it is not without 



wonder that we see that even the daring genius of Milton was 
so far subdued by the spirit of his age as to lend a sort 
of credence to the legend of King Brute and his Trojan 
Colony. 

With the revival of letters, as a more liberal way of think- 
ing prevailed, a more strict adherence to truth was exacted in 
every branch of knowledge. But it is mainly owing to the 
study of history, and the light which has been thrown on the 
records of the past; that the critical judgment, for which 
modern times are distinguished, has been refined and im- 
proved. 

Recovering as it were from the sleep of ages, the human 
mind rejects the dreams that have been imposed on the world 
for history; and renders to truth the homage of an exclusive 
worship. That which is asserted without proof is deemed 
unworthy of credence or even of refutation. Assertion is not 
enough without evidence, nor a witness without some voucher 
for his competency as well as his integrity. 

Authentic history may be said to commence with the times 
when historians began to avail themselves of cotemporary 
memorials of the events which they undertook to describe. 
Our pride may be humbled by the reflection that after all we 
know so little of the past ; that even the dim light of tradition 
throws no ray upon the beginning of the present order of 
things. Moses alone takes up his theme with the morning of 
creation; but his mission is not that of satisfying profane curi- 
osity; nor is the sacred narrative a fit subject for the critical 
tribunal. But it may not be improper to remark of the two 
main features of that narrative, that his chronology, which 
assigns a comparatively recent date to the first appearance of 
man on this globe, is corroborated by the investigations of 
science; and that the unity of the human race, a dogma con- 
secrated by his authority, and dear to the sentiments of hu- 
manity, cannot be disproved by reason. 

But the origin of nationalities, and the names of the great 
benefactors of mankind, who colonized the fairest parts of the 
earth, and made the greatest inventions, are buried in the 
darkness of oblivion. For great things were done before the 



historic period began, and many great events, since that time, 
have been so transformed by fable, as to come down to us in 
the form of Apologue and Mythology. 

But since men began to keep records and to raise intelli- 
gible monuments, new life is infused into the world by ex- 
,tending the pleasures of memory to the bounds of history ; 
and elevating the enjoyments of hope to the height of an en- 
during fame. And whereas truth was once so mixed with 
error as to lie undistinguished in the mass of fable, she now 
shines with her own lustre; and though the path of life is be- 
set with thorns, and the ascent is steep and laborious, the 
light of history irradiates the way: while the noble example 
of those who have gone before, encourages the generous souls 
who are willing to climb the hill; like the voice of companions 
calling from above to cheer and animate their efforts. 

•Well may Cicero, great master of wisdom as of eloquence, 
exclaim: History is the evidence of ages, the light of truth, 
the life of memory, and the school of life. 

The South Carolina Historical Society aims at promoting 
historical studies, and preserving the materials of history that 
are derived from cotemporary witnesses. 

The public mind, in our country, is far more occupied with 
the future than the past. It is a very general complaint that 
our people are careless of records. The materials of history 
are treated very much like the noble forest, not to be surpassed 
in beauty, with which Carolina was once covered. It is de- 
livered, without mercy, to the havoc of the axe or the ravages 
of the devouring flame. The supply is supposed to be inex- 
haustible, and the process goes on till the recklessness of 
waste is checked by the alarm of approaching scarcity. We 
would interpose to protect the remnant of that noble forest 
which is threatened with extermination. We would be happy 
to lend our aid in preserving the memory of things remarka- 
ble or interesting, in our country, which are beginning to lose 
their hold on living memory. The labors, the trials, and dan- 
gers that have proved the endurance, or exercised the virtue 
of our countrymen, are in our eyes of sufficient interest to be 
preserved from neglect. We would inscribe with a name the 



8 

battle fields of Indian and British hostility; and would fain 
prevent the soil that has been watered with blood poured out 
in behalf of the Commonwealth, from being confounded with 
common earth. Our labors, though unpretending, are accom- 
panied by good intentions; and I am happy to say, encouraged 
by a benefaction from the State equal to our moderate desires. 

But the annals of our State have not been entirely neglected. 
The Colonial History has been written by Hewett — a writer 
rather pleasing by his style than instructive by the depth or 
extent of his information. The subject has been treated by 
Ramsay and Simms in narratives extending to our times. 
Ramsay's History is the work of a man of liberal mind, en- 
gaged in professional cares, and pursuing literature as a sec- 
ondary object. But he had been an actor in many of the 
later scenes which he describes, and abounds in information, 
the result rather of his own observation and intercourse with 
life, than of a careful examination of books. Of the period 
antecedent to the Revolution, a critical examination was not in 
his power, for the records were beyond his reach. They lie 
disregarded in the State paper office in London, and it is a 
favorite object of this Society to make their contents known 
by copies obtained from official sources. 

The History of Simms is a work of which parental affec- 
tion may be proud, having been composed under its dictates, 
as we are informed by the Preface; to provide for a want that 
was felt in the education of the author's daughter. He de- 
serves great praise for his attempt to reform the vulgar nomen- 
clature of many places and natural features of the State, which 
are disgraced by obscure or trivial names; and to restore the 
historical and oftentimes euphonious designations by which 
they were characterized in the Indian tongue. 

Valuable documentary materials belonging to the Revolu- 
tionary period have been supplied by Drayton in his History, 
and Johnson in his Life of Greene, to which the volumes 
published by Gibbes form a valuable addition; and the story 
of the war in Carolina may be read with pleasure in the sol- 
diery narrative of Lee, and the lively pages of Weems, the 
biographer of Marion. Without dwelling on the laudable 



munificence of Mr. Weston, who has invested some rare old 
memoirs of the colonial times with all the splendors of Typog- 
raphy, we must not omit to notice the Historical Collections 
of Carroll, and the work of Rivers, on the Proprietary period; 
which is a foretaste of the pleasure and instruction which we 
may hope to derive from the progress of his labors in the 
same field. 

Perhaps the opinion is tinged with the partiality of a native, 
yet after making all allowance for the bias of patriotism, it 
may be said, I think, with justice, that the annals of South 
Carolina offer to the eye of the historian a field worthy of 
more than common attention. 

The first scene partakes of all the interest of romance. The 
voyages of Ribault and Laudoniere carry the reader back to 
the period of the civil wars of France; and are connected with 
the great name of Coligny. 

France, by means of these voyages, impressed the country 
with a name, but nothing more. It was intended as an asy- 
lum for French Dissent; and so, in fact, it became, but not 
under French domination. The sad fate of the Protestant 
exiles — the extinction of the hopes that had animated the 
great soul of Coligny, and led his adventurous countrymen to 
encounter so many sacrifices, is a gloomy picture; unredeemed 
by a single incident of a more genial nature, unless it be 
admiration of the noble DesGourges; who assumed the pub- 
lic cause when neglected by the State ; and with a private 
hand avenged the insulted honor of his country. 

To the same shores, dark with the shade of the primeval 
forest, after long years of undisturbed seclusion, came the 
English Colony, under better auspices. It was an eventful pe- 
riod, between the Great Rebellion and the Revolution. Society 
had been profoundly agitated, and the heaving billows bore 
witness of the recent storm. It was a singular colony of men 
who had fought in civil war on opposite sides, and were ready 
to do so again. It was equally an asylum for the oppressor 
and the oppressed. There royalist and republican, churchman 
and dissenter, found alike a refuge from the storms of life. Nor 
was it merely from the discordant elements of England or the 



10 

British Isles that the strange medley was gathered. The 
rivalry of England and France, which has disturbed the peace 
of the world for centuries, was then at its height. They re- 
garded each other as natural enemies, and on the continent of 
America their meeting was the signal of hostilities. But as 
every variety of living thing found refnge in Noah's ark, so 
in Carolina there was a strange meeting of the human race. 

The Protestants of France, that had waged many a hard 
fought battle, and seen the downfall of hopes to which hu- 
manity might cling as to a promise of blessing; now turned 
their eyes again to the shores which, in the preceding century, 
had attracted the attention of Coligny. To Carolina they 
came; but no longer French — not as masters, but as suppli- 
ants for the rights of hospitality. Bitter must have been the 
struggle with which they had overcome the natural pride of 
the human heart, when they sunk the proud name of French- 
man in that of Protestant; and taught their children to speak 
an alien tongue. They came with small assurance of wel- 
come to join a discordant throng. Though the Huguenots 
have been scattered far and wide, and given proof in every 
clime of the power that abides with sincere religious faith; 
nowhere, is it believed, have they been more conspicuous — 
and nowhere has the sentiment of honor, so characteristic 
of their race, been cherished with more devotion — than in 
South Carolina. 

The heterogeneous colony received accessions from every 
side. The Germans added no small share to the increas- 
ing stock. The European exile and the African slave 
mixed in the throng, and every shade of color and opin- 
ion had its representative in the mass. Then there was, 
in the process of time, a contrast no less striking between 
the Upper and Low country. The Upper country was 
not peopled from the older part of the colony, but by a 
different race; and its inhabitants maintained few relations 
with the people of the Low country, from whom they dif- 
fered in manners as much as in origin; and with whom 
their sympathy was as limited as their intercourse. So great 
was the difference, that sixty years ago it was noticed in books 



11 

of geography that these parts of the State differed among 
themselves more than the other States differed from one an- 
other. 

"If any city ever was in a state of inflammation, Rome at 
first was, being composed of the most hardy and resohite 
men, whom boldness and despair had driven thither from all 
quarters; nourished and matured to power by a series of wars, 
and strenghtened even by blows and conflicts, as piles fixed 
in the ground become firmer under concussion."* 

Though the fame of Rome throws that of all other cities 
into the shade, and exposes even the mention of a casual re- 
semblance to the suspicion of presumption ; yet in one par- 
ticular, we may, without exaggeration, challenge compari- 
son. For though the name of Numa, the Roman law- 
giver, is renowned in history, it is too much mixed with im- 
posture to be the theme of genuine admiration ; but we had a 
lawgiver whose fame places him in the front rank of real liv- 
ing men. The men of wit and fashion in the court of Charles 
II. who asked and obtained the gift of Carolina, selected a 
philosopher for the lawgiver of the nascent colony. And 
such a philosopher! 

Locke was the friend of Shaftsbury, and he who shook the 
world by his Ideas — who sounded the depths of the Human 
Understanding, and walked undismayed to the brink of that 
abyss where lie the absolute, the incomprehensible, the un- 
known — he at the request of friendship compiled the first 
constitution for Carolina. 

No existing constitution can boast such an illustrious an- 
cestry. In reference to the mind from which it emanated, it 
is indeed an interesting document. It possesses interest also 
as a sort of sea-mark by which it may be seen how high the 
tide, that has since swept away so many institutions, had 
risen in 1672. 

On examination, it will be seen that on the subject of reli- 
gious liberty, the philosopher, though liberal, has many reser- 
vations ; and in matters of State, his ideas conform to the 
pattern of the British Constitution rather than to any Utopian 

*Plut. in vit. Numa. 



12 

standard. But some of his notions might well excite a smile, 
and others might give countenance to the common opinion, 
that great men are unfit for public affairs. 

Shaftsbury, one of the Proprietors of Carolina, who with 
all his faults enjoys the undying fame of being the author of 
the Habeas Corpus Act, is the only person in modern history, 
neither priest nor lawyer, who was clothed with the highest 
judicial office; and took upon himself to he a Judge in the 
last resort, without serving an apprenticeship to the Law. And 
though the experiment was never repeated, the praise of a 
bitter enemy forbids us to regard it as a total failure. Per- 
haps the author of the Habeas Corpus Act will be more in- 
debted for his fame to these lines, than to all that has been 
written in his behalf: 

"Yet fame deserved no enemy can grudge 
The Statesman we abhor, but praise the Judge, 
In Israel's courts ne'er sat an Abethdin 
With more discerning eyes, or hands more clean ; 
Unbribed, unsought, the wretched to redress, 
Swift of dispatch and easy of access." 

It was perhaps, in deference to the example of his great 
friend and patron, that the Philosoper admitted into his con- 
stitution this article on the value of professional learning: 

" It shall be a base and vile thing to plead for money; nor 
shall any one, except a near kinsman, not further than cousin- 
germain, be permitted to plead another man's case, until he 
has taken an oath that he does not plead for money." 

Another article will be read with surprise by some in the 
present day, and deserves notice for its historical value: 

" Every free man shall have absolute power over his negro 
slaves.'' 

Though we are justly proud of Locke as our first lawgiver? 
it must be owned, to the disparagement of philosophy, that 
his constitution had a very brief and limited sway. But this 
only adds one instance more to the lesson of history, that a 
constitution cannot be manufactured. It must be so far a 
spontaneous production, as to proceed from and truly reflect 
the condition of things for which it is intended. The insti- 
tution of a provincial noblesse, of seigniories, baronies and ma- 



13 

nors, new courts, and new notions of administering justice, 
were inconsistent with the real wants of the country, and hos- 
tile to the natural development of its resources. The constitu- 
tion was quietly set aside, without having given rise to revo- 
lutionary measures. But all attempts to govern by a form of 
State which is not in keeping with the condition of the vari- 
ous interests which go to form a commonwealth, is a danger- 
ous trial. The experiment was innocuous here, because the 
fulminating material was so minute in quantity. The gov- 
ernment was unarmed, and the people were at ease. The 
same experiment on a great scale has shook the world with 
its explosions. 

In a society constituted Hke Carolina, much harmony could 
not be expected, nor is the judgment deceived by the event. 
Fierce party contests prevailed from the beginning, but there 
was no anarchy. Tlie colony was preserved from that by the 
ascendancy of party. 

It is rather a discouraging fact for those who look forward 
to the indefinite progress of society, that the solidarity which 
should complete the edifice — which is the perfection of the 
principle of association — the harmony which secures the indi- 
vidual and the mass — is realized in the union of party, rather 
than in the union of all. But party is held together by a com- 
bination of those who have more than an equal share of 
power. 

The history of Carolina is no exception. The elective fran- 
chise was liberally diffused, but the Test and Corporation acts 
guarded with jealousy the steps of the Provincial Assembly, 
as they did those of the Imperial Parhament; and the ave- 
nues of office were closed to all but the dominant sect. This 
state of things existed till 1778; a legislative fact, strangely ig- 
nored in the voluminous collection of Cooper, under whose 
revision the Statute Law of Carolina attained, in 1834, the 
bulk of ten quarto volumes. 

After fifty years of contention a revolution took place — the 
proprietary government was subverted, and the colony placed 
under the direct control of the crown. The spirit of liberty 
which all these circumstances combined to foster, made it 



14 

very natural for this colony to take fire at any encroach- 
ment on their rights as British subjects, or to borrow the 
expression of Drayton, one of the leaders of the revolu- 
tion, "the imperial people." By such men the cause of inde- 
pendence was embraced with great ardor. But where there 
is freedom there will be many ways of thinking, and the 
question of independence was not one of those propositions 
about which doubt is inconsistent with integrity. 

There was in South Carolina a numerous Population, bound 
to the Government of the mother country, not only by the 
general sentiment of loyalty, but by the ties of gratitude for 
distinguished favors. They had received at the hands of the 
crown valuable laiids as a free donation, which, by their in- 
dustry, had been converted into thriving farms. 

The government was known to them only by its benefi- 
cence, and the very failings of the administration were calcu- 
lated to prevent collision — to preserve the kindly relations that 
subsisted between the people and their rulers. It was the 
duty of the royal government to extend to all their subjects a 
regular administration of justice and a due provision for the 
instruction of the people. Both Church and State were justly 
chargeable with the neglect of this duty. But it is not improb- 
able that the King was liked the better for not sending bishops 
and lawyers into those settlements, where people lived in a 
primitive simplicity. Some irregularities were the consequence 
of disturbances connected with the rise of a set of men called 
Regulators. But upon the whole, simplicity of faith suffered 
but little from the want of ecclesiastical establishments, and 
manners supplied the place of law. Upon an impartial ret- 
rospect, it is difficult to condemn such people for being con- 
tented with their lot. The evils which they suffered from the 
want of what might be called a vigorous administration, had 
some compensations. Perhaps they bore them patiently be- 
cause they seemed to be the inevitable concomitants of free- 
dom and a frontier life ; an opinion that derives no little coun- 
tenance from experience. For if like causes produce hke 
effects, the want of justice that gave rise to the Regulators is 
still a desideratum attested by the prevalence of lynch law. 



15 

Whatever may be the cause, certain it is that the people of 
South Carolina, were on this, as they had been on many other 
occasions, greatly divided ; and the war of independence in 
this State, was marked with all the bitterness of civil strife. 
It is for that very reason more interesting to the historian. 

Zeal in behalf of our country and oar country's friends is 
commendable, and patriotism deservedly ranks among the 
highest virtues. But even virtue may be pushed to excess, 
and the narrow patriotism that fosters an overweening vanity, 
and is blind to all merit except its own, stands in need of the 
correction of reason. 

History is false to her trust when she betrays the cause of 
truth, even under the influence of patriotic impulses. It is 
not true that all the virtue of the country was in the Whig 
camp, or that the Tories were a horde of ruffians. They were 
conservatives, and their error was in carrying to excess the 
sentiment of loyalty, which is founded in virtue. Their con- 
stancy embittered the contest, but did not provoke it. Their 
cause deserved to fail; but their sufferings are entitled to re- 
spect. Prejudice has blackened their name, but history will 
speak of them as they were, with their failings and their vir- 
tues, as more tenacious than ambitious ; rather weak than as- 
piring; and show towards them the indulgence due to the 
unfortunate. And let it be remembered for the benefit of 
those who are influenced by a name, and pin their faith upon 
party; — for the instruction of those writers who, like unskillful 
painters, daub their pictures with glaring colors ; that it was 
after the epithet of Tory had become perfectly detestable that 
it was freely bestowed on the Federalists, their most redoubted 
enemies. 

South Carolina has been taunted with the division of par- 
ties that marked the war of independence. It is the reproach 
of ignorance. The division is a proof of sincerity, of free- 
dom, of manliness of character. It embittered the contest, it 
gave occasion for the commission of many crimes, but it was 
also the cause of opportunities for the display of the highest 
virtues. Rutledge will ever stand in the ranks of fame with 
the great men whose civil wisdom, courage, and fidelity were 



16 

equal to every emergency, and proof against every trial. Nor 
is it wonderful that the name of Marion is inscribed on coun- 
ties, towns and villages far beyond the theatre of his actions. 
For his character combines the virtues that appeal irresistibly 
to the instincts of the human heart. His courage, gentleness, 
simplicity, and superiority to interest or revenge, mark him as 
a fitting character for the gallery of Plutarch; and such a por- 
trait as that great Limner delighted to draw. 

It is not our intention to enter into details, far less to at- 
tempt to do justice to all, or to even a part of the eminent 
men, to whom as citizens of this State, we are bound by 
the debt of gratitude. Let us leave to Bancroft, and the mas- 
ters of the historic page, the ample roll of fame; and the hon- 
ored task of inscribing a nation's gratitude on the tablets of 
memory. It is enough for us to have shown that our State 
has furnished some historical materials, and called attention 
to the objects of our Society. 

And now after having observed at some length on the com- 
posite structure of society, and the strong tendency of the peo- 
ple to fall into parties, the unanimity which for years has 
marked the public counsels of the State deserves to be men- 
tioned as the unexpected solution, or successful development 
of the long continued drama. From the most heterogeneous 
we have become the most united of all the political commu- 
nities on this continent. May that union be consecrated to 
peace, and the future history of the State contain the record 
of its steady advance in all the arts of life, and all the virtues 
that dignify humanity. 



